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Two men have been detained as part of an investigation into the dumping of many thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities indicated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a residence in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the huge mound of garbage dumped near Kidlington.

These detentions come after a prior revelation which uncovered the operation of over 500 illegal sites across England, featuring at a minimum of 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the environmental body commented that the apprehensions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime offences and represented a "key step" in ongoing investigations. The two individuals have been released on conditional release.

Size of the Situation

The dump in near Kidlington, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to contain about 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) in height.

This pile of rubbish is made up of what looks to be treated residential rubbish, fragmented plastic items, expanded polystyrene, tires and various domestic articles.

It represents just a single of 517 unlawful dumps throughout England, at a minimum of 11 of which contain over 20,000 tonnes of waste. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The actual number of such larger dumps is likely to be greater, as the environment authority has previously acknowledged it does not possess records on weight for every unauthorized tip.

Most such locations are in rural areas, often out of sight, and on land that should be agricultural property.

Organised Operations

Law enforcement say many are operated by organised crime gangs, who are generating money by asking for far less than legitimate firms to receive and bury waste.

Firms have to be liable for disposal fees to use licensed landfill sites, contingent on the quantity and category of waste they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Frustration

Preparatory efforts to clean up the affected location began earlier this month due to fears over the risk of combustion and the impact that would have on the close-by highway.

A private clean-up firm has been given the job to remediate the location over the next 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the national environment unit commented that the body would be aiming to claim back the remediation expenses under asset recovery acts from any party successfully found guilty at the termination of its ongoing case.

She further stated that this week's arrests would help "drive the probe forward" and enable the agency to "follow more avenues to understand precisely what transpired and who was implicated".

"The illegal site at the site was an appalling and calculated assault on our environment and officials share the public's anger at this terrible offence," she said.

A senior representative praised the actions, stating: "The unauthorized deposit of waste at Kidlington is utterly appalling and has led to considerable harm to the environment and upset to the surrounding population.

"Our administration is dedicated to eradicating this kind of criminality across the country, by increasing resources to combat illegal dumping, recruiting more personnel and implementing tougher controls and fines for those who break the regulations."

The apprehensions were executed on Thursday by agents from a specialist crime team and follow an earlier detention of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in the autumn. He was let go subject to additional enquiries.